Hnry has turned accounting for sole traders on its head

Sole traders have enough on their plate without juggling the complexities of tax. Moreover, using an accountant can be expensive for workers already dealing with razor-thin margins.

For James Fuller, CEO and co-founder of Hnry, this bugbear was so frustrating that he developed a dedicated accounting solution so sole traders would never have to think about tax again. 

SmartCompany sat down with Fuller to examine how their spark of brilliance changed the accounting game.

Who is Hnry?

On the surface, Hnry appears similar to other tech offerings in the tax and accounting space — but it’s also so much more than an app that lives in your phone. Behind the smart interface, Hnry is a team of expert accountants who provide real-time, high-quality support for sole traders.

Hnry was designed to streamline tax and accounting so sole traders can concentrate on what they do best: taking care of business. And the testimonials speak for themselves — as Fuller describes it, he has customers telling him in no uncertain terms that Hnry has changed their lives. 

“They tell me that they used to be up at night concerned about tax bills,” he says. “Whereas now they can focus on growing their business. They have access to an expert team who don’t patronise them for not understanding the complexities of tax.”

“Hnry gives them the confidence to go out and be a sole trader without the anxiety about tax and finances.”

Hnry isn’t just making tax and accounting easier for sole traders, it’s changing their lives for the better. And for time-strapped sole traders who can’t think of anything worse than calculating their tax obligations all year round, one little app is a quick way to eliminate anxiety.

It started with a spreadsheet

There was no ‘light-bulb moment’ for Hnry’s inception. Co-founders James and Claire were dealing with the same tax struggles that so many sole traders are dealing with right now. 

They researched government websites. They hired an accountant. They set up business banking accounts that charged high fees. They paid for complex accounting software. But in the end, they were facing the same frustrations and spent long hours playing with numbers. So they decided to fix things themselves.

“Claire and I were both using a series of spreadsheets to make our lives easier,” he says. “We had no intention of starting a business out of it. We were simply solving our personal pains.”

Word got out about these magical spreadsheets, however, and before long friends, acquaintances and eventually strangers were seeking out the Fullers’ spreadsheets.

Transparent fees

Fuller believes sole traders shouldn’t have to pay through the nose for tax solutions.

“Old-school accountants are notoriously difficult to contact. Then, when you finally manage to get them on the phone, they start the clock right away,” he says. “The fee structure tends to be opaque and you’re never really sure how much it’s going to cost you until the end of the year.”

Conversely, Hnry’s fee structure is transparent: you pay $1+GST for every $100 in self-employed income earned. For high-income earners, the fees are capped at $1,500 per year if you earn over $150,000 in self-employed income.

And no matter what you earn, you get unlimited use of Hnry’s services and accounting team.

Smart technology run by expert accountants

As many sole traders can attest, making a big change in business can be daunting — especially when it involves finances. But Fuller says Hnry users can expect three big positives:

1. Automatic deductions: “Everyone who joins gets their own unique Hnry bank account to have their sole trader income paid into. Anytime you get paid by a client, we automatically calculate, deduct and pay exactly the right amount of your taxes — income tax, GST, Medicare, student loans and whatever else is applicable — before passing the remainder on to your personal bank account immediately”
2. Web and mobile support: “We provide a range of tools and features that are super useful for sole traders. Some people need to invoice, others need to send quotes, while others need to raise business deductions. They can do all of those things in seconds through the Hnry app. After they raise a deduction, our accountants will review it to get them the right tax relief straight away.”
3. Pay-as-you-go pricing: “The resources, tools, tips, support and access to our accounting team are all provided under the same fee structure. The whole service is also pay as you go, so you only pay when you’re earning. Our fee is 1% of the money that’s paid into your Hnry Bank Account, and then we instantly claim that for you as a business deduction.”